3 (courses) for 1

When I have the time, I really enjoy drawing out a meal as long as possible. It just feels better when I take a special moment to enjoy each bite, and after too, when I'm not overstuffed or still hungry with an empty plate. In my experience, there are two sure-fire ways to extend one's mealtime. First, eat with friends. The more talking you're doing in between bites, the slower you're eating! Second, serve multiple courses. Some might feel this latter tip only works when the former is also in use, but I think it's fun to make fancy meals just for myself.



I made a three-course dinner for one this past weekend. As a small antipasto, I was a bit daring and decided to splash some avocado chunks and capers with balsamic vinegar before cracking some fresh salt and pepper over top. Extra simple, but a nice blend of sweet and salty flavors with the creaminess of the avocado.



Next, enjoyed one of the most comforting dishes I know with some classy French flare:

Creamy Elbow Pasta with Peas and Walnuts
serves 4, great for leftovers

1 box elbow pasta (I used GF quinoa pasta), prepared according to package directions
4 tablespoons Earth Balance
1 shallot, minced
2 cups frozen green peas
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 cup shelled walnuts
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
s&p to taste

Make pasta, drain and set aside while the shallots saute gently in a large skillet with the Earth Balance. Once the shallots begin to soften, add the peas, rosemary and walnuts. Continue sauteing over medium heat.

Once the flavors have melded a bit, add the almond milk and nooch and stir until they form a creamy sauce. Taste for s&p. Toss pasta and sauce in a large bowl and serve warm.

Dessert was a hunk of my new favorite chocolate bar, ALTER ECO's Dark Twist Chocolate. It's very dark and rich, with little slivers of crystallized orange in every bite. UGHH YUM, I wish I had some right now. I highly recommend it. And cooking for oneself every now and then. Celebrate yourself! :)

How does pasta never get old?

No matter how many pasta dishes I make, I never, ever tire of it! This one happens to be made with my current favorite GF pasta, made of nothing but brown rice, and it tastes as close to real whole wheat pasta as it could, I think. The sweet potatoes in this dish that I improvised on for lunch yesterday manage both to coat the pasta in their gooey sweetness and maintain a few chunks, adding some texture.



Roasted Sweet Potato Pasta
serves 4

2 large sweet potatoes
1 1/2 tablespoons Earth Balance
1 1/2 tablespoons EV olive oil
3 cloves garlic
3 small sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves removed and chopped
1 cup frozen spinach
1/2 box small pasta, like penne
s&p

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Poke a few holes with a fork in each sweet potato, then roast them on a baking sheet for about 45 minutes. Just check on them to see when they're soft.

Once they've cooked through, take them out of the oven, peel them and chop them into large chunks. Boil the water for pasta while you heat the Earth Balance and oil in a pot over medium. Add the garlic and chopped rosemary to the pot. Once fragrant, plop the sweet potato chunks in, top with spinach and toss. When the pasta's done, toss that in as well. Allow the sweet potatoes to mush up into a kind of sauce, though like I said, a few chunks are ideal.

I sprinkled my plate with some mozzerella Daiya - good decision!

Soul Food digs Daiya

Consider this my official blogger nod to the new vegan cheeze sensation, Daiya. We don't have a Whole Foods in Gainesville, so the excitement over its being stocked at Whole Foods everywhere came to me a bit belated. But back in South Florida, Mom and I got over to one of the organic mega-stores and picked up some of the mozzarella variety, which we have thus far scattered on a pizza and the pasta seen above. The verdict? I'm so hooked on this stuff. Can't wait to make a grilled cheese.

The marinara we used for the pizza and the pasta was very rustic, and thoroughly homemade, right down to the freshly picked tomatoes from the little garden in my grandma's backyard. If your summer plot is beginning to overflow with tomatoes like ours is, I highly recommend this recipe - it makes a LOT of sauce!



Garden-Style Marinara
3 lbs. very ripe tomatoes
1 whole head of garlic
2 small yellow onions, roughly chopped
1 large purple or green bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup fresh basil, firmly packed
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
red pepper flakes
olive oil
s&p

Squeeze half of the tomatoes into a large bowl, allowing everything but the skins to fall in. Cut the rest of the tomatoes in half, spread on a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil, s&p. Roast in a 400-degree oven for 40 minutes.

Make a paste with the garlic and onions in a food processor. Transfer to a large pot with chopped bell pepper and a few shakes of olive oil. Saute until the pepper softens, then add both the squeezed and roasted tomatoes, all the herbs and red pepper flakes to your taste. Let the sauce cook down for about an hour on low heat.

I'll just keep it to myself in the sun

What a lovely day! So warm and sunny outside. Got to pull on my straw hat and head out to my garden at school with boyfriend in tow for some more Spring planting. And waiting for me when I returned home was a special Easter surprise:


Tailored precisely to my dietary preferences, hahaha.

That my parents had the foresight to choose vegan, sugar-free Easter "candy" for their weirdo daughter in lieu of the more traditional chocolate bunnies, eggs, etc. is a treat in itself!

Before I nommed out on those dried pears, I ate some leftovers from last night's dinner, an incredibly rich, hearty, misleadingly meaty stroganoff invented out of thin air by my genius roommate, Halie. You're going to have to trust my description as to the deliciousness of this dish because pictures reeeeally do not do it justice.

Carrot-Walnut Stroganoff
serves 6

olive oil
5 carrots
1 1/2 cups walnuts
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups water
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
2 sprigs worth fresh thyme
2 1/2 cups nutritional yeast
plenty of s&p

In a large skillet, saute the carrots and walnuts in oil, being careful not to burn them. Toss in the garlic and cook until fragrant. Pour three cups of water over top and add the onion powder, basil and thyme.

Cook this mixture until the carrots are softened, then transfer to a food processor and blend well. Return to the skillet, mixing in the remaining two cups of water, the nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Let it all meld over medium-low heat for a few minutes. Smother pasta with the sauce and serve.

Everything about this day is decidedly Spring-y. I am totally loving it!

One loaf, three ways.

The mess of a dish pictured above was actually very tasty! A vegan, sugar- and gluten-free take on spaghetti and meatballs, this is Dish #2 in a series of three based on a variation of this lentil loaf recipe from a new blog inspiration, SmarterFitter. My alterations:

-Used 1 1/2 cups cooked rice-and-bean pilaf and 1/2 cup split peas
-Omitted celery and used a whole cup of onions
-Replaced soy sauce with Bragg's Liquid Aminos
-Omitted caraway seeds

First, formed burger-like patties out of the stuff and fried 'em up in coconut oil. Ate with mustard and a side of garlicky kale. Tasted great, but didn't fill me up for very long. The next day, shaped it into little meatball-like spheres and again fried in coconut oil until browned. With quinoa spaghetti noodles, homemade tomato sauce and kale, these suckers added worlds of flavor to a very filling dinner.

Today, I think I'm going to finish this batch of lentil-y, fennel-y yum by actually following the original directions and smothering the baked loaf with cashew gravy. This was a great time-saver! After the initial prep, it's been available for use in whatever I dream up. I might use less celery and fennel seeds next time, in favor of some dried basil and parsley.

My momma and step-papa visited this weekend, which means the past couple days were an all-out culinary tour of Gainesville - not too much home-cookin' going on! But wow, do I love the food in this town. The Jones for a premium local lunch was my personal high point.

I'm on my eighth day of the no-sugar cleanse and feeling pretty strong. I hope to find time this week to experiment with Stevia-sweetened treats. I will, of course, report back.

TLC

I am once again trying recover from a cold! Jeez! Obviously haven't been taking great care of my body, if I'm relapsing within a week of getting over the last one. I'm devoting this entire weekend to rest and real recovery. So there, cold.



Of course, the world doesn't stop for a cold. Now that I've taken a lil' break from blogging to stay on top of school things, I'm back because I seriously needed some tender lovin' cookin'. Felt inspired to make a traditional Italian four-course meal (antipasti, first-course pasta, second-course salad, dessert), but I kinda lost some steam as the evening wore on. Turned out to be only three. Oh well! We had some delicious fresh bread dipped in olive oil and Herbes de Provence, then my vegan adaptation of penne alla vodka, and something I'm saving for my next post - homemade strawberry ice cream! Actually, in keeping with the theme, I'll call it "gelato." Harhar. Anyway, here's the pasta recipe. It was yummy!

Penne Alla Vodka
serves 4

1 box whole wheat penne
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons vodka (it was in short supply, but it worked!)
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup pignolis
1/4 cup agave nectar
s&p

Cook pasta according to directions while you...

Saute the onion and garlic until softened. Add the tomatoes, herbs and vodka and cook on medium-high heat until heated through and soft. Stir in the nooch (nutritional yeast), pignolis (pine nuts), agave and s&p. Pour the sauce into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour over da pasta.